The “Nutmeg Trick” is a universally celebrated soccer move—it takes skill and perfect timing to get a defender to widen their stance enough to kick the ball through their legs and then run to retrieve it on the other side. Fans worship the players that can pull the move off, and also remember those that succumb to it. This now-famous soccer maneuver is said to have acquired its name from deceptive London spice traders, who would switch out real nutmeg for wooden replicas, thus ‘nutmegging’ their customers of the expensive commodity.
Building on this strong soccer fan insight, Pepsi launched the ‘Nutmeg Royale’ campaign. Pepsi created a hero TV commercial (TVC) film that entertained fans with icons of the game, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho, celebrating soccer’s craftiest move. The TVC created a platform to build out the campaign with a variety of activations, including experiential, merchandise, and most importantly, a new flavor innovation: Pepsi Nutmeg. The new Pepsi flavor was dropped with social media influencers during a time of heightened worldwide interest in soccer.
To support the campaign, the Design Team created a Limited Time Offer (LTO) influencer packaging set that dialed up the fun, bold attitude of the Pepsi brand resonated with football fans, and was shareable on social media. Most importantly, the design needed to draw a direct link between the Pepsi Nutmeg flavor and the Nutmeg soccer trick. They anchored the design into a key scene from the TVC that captures the ‘Nutmeg’ moment, as the ball passes through the legs of the local player as his face fills with shock and surprise— a connection to that first taste of the Pepsi Nutmeg LTO flavor. The colorways they selected echo the dusty, sandy, earthen tones from the TVC giving the consumers clear flavor cues that this was not their usual Pepsi.
To create a memorable influencer kit opening experience, they used two boxes to reveal the LTO can. Taking inspiration from the old-world spice trade, the outer box is a nod to shipping crates from the turn of the last century, a reference to the origins of the name given to the football trick. A rough weathered treatment was added to the printed graphics, to emulate the great distances traveled by these vintage crates.
The Pepsi Nutmeg LTO was well-received with consumers expressing positive sentiment on social media and a desire to try the new flavor.
Category:Graphic DesignYear:2023Designer:Pepsi Nutmeg, PepsiCo, New York, New York, USAManufacturer:PepsiCo, New York, New York, USA